Tag: Alex Pereira

MMA Junkie’s 2024 Male Fighter of the Year: Ilia Topuria

In a tight quality-vs-quantity debate, UFC champ Ilia Topuria emerges as our Male Fighter of the Year thanks to two unprecedented knockouts.

As 2024 comes to a close, there’s a bit of uncertainty surrounding [autotag]Ilia Topuria[/autotag]’s future. What’s completely certain, however, is that the reigning UFC featherweight champion had a one-of-a-kind year inside the octagon.

Who, in the history of the UFC, can claim to have knocked out two of their division’s three greatest fighters while they were still in their primes, in back-to-back fights, in one calendar year? Topuria can.

For that reason, Topuria is MMA Junkie’s 2024 Male Fighter of the Year.

UFC 298: Topuria’s opening act

The year began with Topuria booked to challenge then-featherweight champ Alexander Volkanovski in February. Topuria, who at the time was a perfect 14-0, earned the title shot after winning his first six UFC fights and on the strength of a dominant unanimous decision against Josh Emmett in his first UFC main event. The title fight was a massive opportunity as Volkanovski had held gold since December 2019 and made five consecutive title defenses.

Volkanovski certainly had the experience advantage, but that didn’t stop Topuria from talking a big game. Shades of Conor McGregor before he fought Jose Aldo, Topuria even stole the belt from Volkanovski during the UFC 298 pre-fight press conference.

“I’m going to put his lights out,” Topuria said heading into UFC 298. “… I consider myself a far more complete and effective finisher than Volkanovski. The experience is on his side, but the young blood is on my side. This is my moment. God’s timing is perfect, and He’s prepared me for this moment. There won’t be any failure.”

Ilia Topuria knocks out Alexander Volkanovski in their featherweight title fight during UFC 298 at Honda Center in Anaheim, California. (Sean M. Haffey, Getty Images)

Topuria was right. And in the second round, his powerful right hand hit the mark and put Volkanovski to sleep for the knockout to make him Spain’s first UFC champion.

Topuria felt so emboldened after his win that he immediately turned his attention to McGregor. While that callout was a reach, big things still lied ahead for the new champ.

UFC 308: Topuria’s encore

After a whirlwind eight months that included doing the honorary kickoff before a Real Madrid FC game, meeting with Spain Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez and soccer star Leionel Messi, Topuria would enter his next in the unfamiliar role as not just defending UFC champion but a bonafide star.

Former champion Max Holloway was the challenge, who would head into UFC 308 on a three-fight winning streak and as the promotions BMF champ following one of the most iconic knockouts of all time in a lightweight bout with Justin Gaethje at UFC 300.

For Topuria, simply defending his belt wouldn’t be enough. He wanted to claim another first: the first man to knock out Holloway in his illustrious career. Which is why Topuria dared Holloway to bring the same energy he had in the final 10 seconds of the Gaethje by pointed to the center of the canvas at the start of theirs.

“If he does it, even better for me. Maybe I’m going to point to the ground,” Topuria told MMA Junkie before UFC 308. “Maybe I will do all that because I’m going to feel so comfortable in that fight because I’m telling you, every time I see him fight, I’m like, ‘Everyone is going to be surprised when I knock him out.’ Because I see him as such an easy matchup for me. If he thinks that I’m not right, prove me wrong. We’re going to be in the same octagon Oct. 26. Prove me wrong.”

Ilia Topuria punches Max Holloway at UFC 308. (MMA Junkie)

It was Topuria who proved himself right at UFC 308, and in the third round he found the finish by knocking Holloway with punches.

Afterward, Topuria only wished there as another belt on the line.

“I never understand why they didn’t put the BMF title on the line,” Topuria told reporters at the UFC 308 post-fight press conference. “It has to be on the line since the first day. But hey, don’t want to make it official? I’m going to make it official by myself. Now I’m the new ‘Baddest Motherf*ker’ world champion.”

What’s next for Topuria?

With knockouts of two of the consensus three greatest featherweights of all time (except for Jose Aldo) on his resume, it might be impossible for Topuria to top 2024. While Topuria has 145-pound challengers such as Diego Lopes and Movsar Evloev in front of him, they’re nowhere near the stature of Volkanovski and Holloway. Perhaps that explains why Topuria recently expressed a desire to move to lightweight.

Whatever is in store for him in 2025, we’ll never forget that he had perhaps the greatest pair of back-to-back wins by a fighter in 2024, which made him our choice for Fighter of the Year.

Honorable mention: Alex Pereira

Alex Pereira at UFC 300. (Imagn Images)

In any other year, [autotag]Alex Pereira[/autotag] would’ve locked up Male Fighter of the Year well before the year was over.

In a span of six months from April to October, Pereira defended the UFC light heavyweight championship with knockouts of Jamhal Hill, Jiri Prochazka and Khalil Rountree. And he did this under less-than-ideal circumstances as he repeatedly saved the promotion by accepting these title fights on short notice.

If not for the unprecedented quality of Topuria’s two victories, Pereira’s quantity would’ve made him the clear choice for Male Fighter of the Year.

Jan Blachowicz: Magomed Ankalaev’s current style not good enough to beat Alex Pereira

Jan Blachowicz thinks Magomed Ankalaev needs to make a big change to dethrone UFC light heavyweight champion Alex Pereira.

[autotag]Jan Blachowicz[/autotag] thinks [autotag]Magomed Ankalaev[/autotag] needs to make a big change to dethrone UFC light heavyweight champion [autotag]Alex Pereira[/autotag].

Ankalaev (19-1-1 MMA, 10-1-1 UFC) is touted to be the next title challenger for Pereira, although nothing has been announced. Blachowicz (29-10-1 MMA, 12-7-1 UFC), who battled Ankalaev to a split draw at UFC 282, was critical of Ankalaev’s performance against Aleksandar Rakic at UFC 308.

Although Ankalaev won the fight, former champion Blachowicz thought he looked tentative. He thinks Ankalaev will need to show more of a sense of urgency if he wants to beat Pereira (12-2 MMA, 9-1 UFC).

“If Ankalaev will fight like last fight with Rakic, he’s going to lose the fight,” Blachowicz said in an interview with “Home of Fight.” “He needs to do something more. … He is a good fighter, but it’s not enough for Pereira in this kind of style. He needs to change.

“He needs to be more – he has to believe in what he’s doing. I think he doesn’t believe. He just wants to win the fight, but don’t take too much punches. He is very careful in this what he’s doing, and I think this kind of way, fighting with Pereira, will not work.”

Ankalaev promised to knock out Pereira, and said he doesn’t need to resort to his grappling to take out “Poatan.” However, Blachowicz isn’t entirely sold on his bold prediction.

“He said the same before Rakic that we’re going to see a new Ankalaev, but everybody saw that this fight was very boring,” Blachowicz said. “I almost go to sleep, so maybe he will start saying the same and then he will fight again very boring style. … Three fights ago, I would have picked Ankalaev, but now Pereira.”

Blachowicz hasn’t competed since a split decision loss to Pereira in July 2023. He returns against rising contender Carlos Ulberg March 22 at UFC Fight Night 255 in London.

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UFC champion Alex Pereira reacts to altercation with Jamahal Hill

Alex Pereira brushed off his confrontation with Jamahal Hill at the UFC Performance Institute.

LAS VEGAS – [autotag]Alex Pereira[/autotag] brushed off his confrontation with [autotag]Jamahal Hill[/autotag] at the UFC Performance Institute.

Thursday, while both fighters appeared to be training at the UFC PI, Hill walked up to light heavyweight champion Pereira. That sparked a heated back-and-forth, which saw Pereira tell Hill to put on the gloves and step in the cage.

Pereira (12-2 MMA, 9-1 UFC) was asked to give his side of the story, but barely acknowledged Hill (12-2 MMA, 6-2 UFC), whom he knocked out in their title fight at UFC 300.

“Well, things happen,” Pereira told MMA Junkie through an interpreter on the red carpet. “This is the first time it’s happened to me, but I’m focused on myself, focused on my thing. Right now, he should be worried about his next fight. He has a tough fight with Jiri.”

Hill meets fellow former light heavyweight champion Jiri Prochazka Jan. 18 at UFC 311. Meanwhile, “Poatan” is targeting a return at the end of March or April.

As for the opponent, Pereira says it could be Magomed Ankalaev.

“It seems to be – I don’t know,” Pereira said. “But like I said before, I want to make it harder for him because of all the lies he said about me so, let’s see what’s next.”

Both Hill and Prochazka have their sights set on a rematch with Pereira. UFC heavyweight champion Jon Jones also wants Pereira next, and the newly crowned Fighter of the Year likes that he continues to have options.

“I’m happy to be called out by all these people – keep my name out there,” Pereira said. “People are enjoying my job. But at the end of the day, what I really want is to continue my work and keep defending my belt.”

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Jamahal Hill gives his side of Alex Pereira confrontation at UFC PI

Jamahal Hill insinuates that it’s Alex Pereira who sparked their heated altercation.

[autotag]Jamahal Hill[/autotag] insinuates that it’s [autotag]Alex Pereira[/autotag] who sparked their heated altercation.

Hill (12-2 MMA, 6-2 UFC) and light heavyweight champion Pereira (12-2 MMA, 9-1 UFC) engaged in a heated back-and-forth while both were training at the UFC Performance Institute on Thursday. That prompted Pereira to tell Hill to put on the gloves and step in the cage.

Hill’s most recent outing came in a knockout loss to Pereira at UFC 300 in April. “Sweet Dreams” shared in detail what happened between the pair at the UFC PI.

“I was at the PI earlier. Alex was there,” Hill said on his YouTube channel. “I just finished working out. He was working out, and I went to go up and have a conversation, ask him what we on? We don’t have to talk across Twitter because I’m right here. Initially, when I went up to him, it was smooth, ‘Don’t run to heavyweight, and I’m going to go ahead and handle business, and then we need to run it back.’ And in the middle of the exchange, he said something to his translator, and his translator said, ‘He said you’re still sleeping, woke up and sh*t.’ I’m wide awake now. You can get put to sleep for real. Then it kind of went to a whole fake ass, ‘Yeah, come get the gloves and go in the cage.’

“Which I replied, ‘What the f*ck we need gloves for? We’re not getting paid right now.’ I get paid to put on gloves and fight. When I’m out in a situation like that, we could throw hands right now. I’m not finna wait, take time, put no gloves on or none of that sh*t. We can just throw hands right now, and his response was just to stand there. So f*ck it, we’re going to get paid. I’m not going to ruin my bread, because here’s the thing, right: If I just reached over and hit him there and we started fighting right there, I possibly lose out on my next fight, and any opportunities I have left – restrictions now at the PI and all these other things. We get paid. We made a lot of money the first time we fought, so why would I not make a lot of money when I knock his ass out the next time?”

Hill will look to rebound when he takes on fellow ex-light heavyweight champion Jiri Prochazka at UFC 311 on Jan. 18. Magomed Ankalaev continues to push for the next title shot against Pereira.

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Video: Alex Pereira-Jamahal Hill confrontation at UFC PI quickly escalates

Watch Jamahal Hill and Alex Pereira square off in a tense moment at the UFC PI in Las Vegas.

When [autotag]Jamahal Hill[/autotag] saw [autotag]Alex Pereira[/autotag] at the UFC Peformance Institute, he kept his same energy from social media to real life.

Hill on Thursday confronted Pereira at the UFC PI in Las Vegas. To no surprise, the interaction was far from amicable as the two sized each other up with Hill doing most of the talking. At one point, Pereira can be seen signaling Hill to strap on gloves and step in the cage.

You can watch their confrontation in the video below:

https://www.instagram.com/p/DDNg4U_yTOn/

Hill and Pereira have history. The two fought this past April at UFC 300 in a light heavyweight championship fight. Although scheduled for 25 minutes, “Poatan” only needed just a little more than three minutes to knock out Hill – who has claimed Pereira’s KO was a fluke and not a real representation of a fight between them.

Since the bout, Hill and Pereira have jabbed at each other in the media and have gone back and forth on social media.

Pereira defended his UFC light heavyweight title against Khalil Roundtree in August and is expected to face Magomed Ankalaev sometime in 2025. Meanwhile, Hill was recently scheduled to fight former champion Jiri Proichazka at UFC 311 on Jan. 18 in Los Angeles.

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GLORY champ Rico Verhoeven admits seeing Alex Pereira’s UFC success raised thoughts of MMA move

Glory kickboxing champion Rico Verhoeven admits watching Alex Pereira’s successful transition to the UFC made him think of doing the same.

In just a few years, [autotag]Alex Pereira[/autotag] successfully transitioned from GLORY kickboxer to one of the greatest UFC champions ever. [autotag]Rico Verhoeven[/autotag] admits witnessing the career move has prompted thoughts of making the same switch.

Verhoeven, the current GLORY heavyweight champion, has admired UFC light heavyweight champion Pereira’s success in MMA, and wasn’t shocked to see it come to fruition.

“Definitely not surprised with Alex’s performances because he’s an amazing fighter,” Verhoeven told MMA Junkie. “He did amazing in GLORY, and he’s doing amazing now. Yeah, he’s a true athlete, a real hard worker. I love it. A nice guy, and a great champion.”

The “Prince of Kickboxing” understands there are more eyeballs on MMA than kickboxing and admits that seeing Pereira reach the pinnacle of the UFC in a short time has given him thoughts about switching sports.

“Of course when I see it, I’m like ‘Oh, man!'” Verhoeven said. “Maybe that would have been something for me, but I don’t know. I truly believe everything in life happens for a reason and you always need to be honest to yourself and you have to look in the mirror and see: Would it really be my ambition to be the very, very, very best MMA fighter? Probably not. Probably not, to be really honest.

“For me, that’s what works; being transparent and just look at yourself and just come up with the answer. Is the answer yes or is it no? Or is it a maybe? Probably if it’s a maybe, it’s more than a no than its a yes. So for me, I think the answer is a simple no.”

Verhoeven returns to action on Dec. 7 to take on Levin Rigters at GLORY COLLISION 7 on Dec. 7 in the Netherlands. It’s a rematch from their meeting in the GLORY Heavyweight Grand Prix, which took place earlier this year in March, which Verhoeven won by the four knockdown rule.

Should Verhoeven repeat his success, he’s looking forward to any and all challenges that lie ahead in 2025, including a potential meeting with PFL superfights champion Francis Ngannou in some form of martial arts.

However, Verhoeven reiterates he’s comfortable building a legacy in kickboxing, despite wondering what would have happened if he did move to MMA full time.

“I’ve been doing the sport of kickboxing for so long,” Verhoeven said. “We’ve been dominanting, and I just want to set the bar as high as possible for the next generation, and that’s what they can follow. And then for me, there’s so many other things that I want to do. I want to get into acting. I’m an entrepreneur. I’m a shareholder in a bunch of different companies. So, having fun with that – of course, I’m a father, family man. So many things to do.

“So, jumping into a fully different sport? I don’t know. It’s not really like my ambition, to be honest. If you really want to transition, it should be your ambition to be your very best, and if it’s not, why would you transition at all?”

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Jamahal Hill responds to Alex Pereira: ‘We both know the fear that was in your heart!!’

Jamahal Hill vows to meet Alex Pereria in a UFC title rematch and criticizes how he approached recent opponents.

[autotag]Jamahal Hill[/autotag] continues to offer an interesting perspective on his first meeting against UFC champion [autotag]Alex Pereira[/autotag], and vows to meet him again in the octagon.

The last time Hill (12-2 MMA, 6-2 UFC) competed was against Pereira (12-2 MMA, 9-1 UFC) in the main event of UFC 300. Hill was knocked out a few seconds after Pereira waved off referee Herb Dean’s intervention after a low blow. Since that moment, Hill has offered plenty of commentary on what occurred inside the cage that night.

At UFC 311, Hill will have the opportunity to earn another crack at Pereira if he can get past another fellow former light heavyweight champion, Jiri Prochazka. It’s a fight “Poatan” is also keeping a close eye on.

“Calm down, my son. Pass this test, and Dad will give you a second chance,” Pereira wrote on X (formerly Twitter) in a post with a faceoff photo of Hill and Prochazka.

Soon after the social media message, Hill responded with a few words of his own, criticizing Pereira’s differences in approach to recent opponents while vowing to earn his rematch.

“Beat it funny how you rushed lil ass roundtree and dumbass Jiri like you were the man but waited until the refs got in the way to swing at me!!!” Hill wrote in a quote reply. “You will see me again at 100% soon and we both know the fear that was in your heart!!”

Since knocking out Hill, Pereira has gone on to record two more title defenses by stopping Prochazka at UFC 303 and Khalil Rountree at UFC 307.

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Khalil Rountree discusses moment he ‘went blind’ in Alex Pereira loss at UFC 307

Khalil Rountree couldn’t see out of one eye at a certain point against Alex Pereira.

[autotag]Khalil Rountree[/autotag] couldn’t see out of one eye at a certain point against [autotag]Alex Pereira[/autotag].

Rountree (13-6 MMA, 9-6 UFC) was badly battered in a Round 4 TKO loss to light heavyweight champion Pereira at UFC 307 in October.

Rountree’s face was a mess, and he suffered a deviated septum which needed a painful procedure. He recently revealed that his vision was also severely compromised during the fight from the damage he took.

“In the moment, I didn’t feel it,” Rountree said on the “JAXXON Podcast.” “For instance, in the fight where this cut happened, I got hit, and boom. I knew I had gotten hit hard because I started to see my vision kind of blur a little bit. But the second one that landed, the one that actually split my eye, in that moment I went blind. But f*ck it: I’m going to keep going.

“I didn’t see anything after that – I saw just light. I didn’t see shadows, I didn’t see anything. It was like if someone put a frosted film. So I can’t see. I’m f*cking blind. But whatever – I’m not going to give up. But the sensation, I didn’t feel anything. The adrenaline was too high, but I realized it was there. My eye was f*cked up, but I’ll deal with it later.”

Rountree stood toe-to-toe with Pereira and found success early by winning Rounds 1 and 2 on all three judges’ scorecards, but “Poatan” was able to break him down eventually for a late finish.

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Spinning Back Clique REPLAY: UFC 309 fallout, Jon Jones vs. Tom Aspinall, Paul-Tyson, more

On the latest episode of “Spinning Back Clique,” the panel discusses Jon Jones’ win over Stipe Miocic at UFC 309, Jake Paul’s victory over Mike Tyson, and more.

Check out this week’s “Spinning Back Clique,” MMA Junkie’s weekly live show that takes a spin through the biggest topics in mixed martial arts.

This week’s panel of Brian “Goze” Garcia, Mike Bohn and Danny Segura will join host “Gorgeous” George Garcia live at noon ET (9 a.m. PT) to discuss and debate the following topics:

  • [autotag]Jon Jones[/autotag] has made the heavyweight division quite interesting, to say the least. The living legend returned to the cage Saturday, successfully defending his UFC heavyweight title against [autotag]Stipe Miocic[/autotag] in the main event of UFC 309. Now it seems Jones has little to no intention of unifying the belt with interim champion [autotag]Tom Aspinall[/autotag], and is calling for a bout against fellow star and light heavyweight champion [autotag]Alex Pereira[/autotag]. What happens now? Will Jones give in and fight Aspinall, or will he retire from MMA? We discuss and analyze everything surrounding the UFC 309 main event.
  • Jones wasn’t the only one who made headlines at UFC 309, which also saw [autotag]Charles Oliveira[/autotag] defeat [autotag]Michael Chandler[/autotag] in their highly anticipated rematch; [autotag]Bo Nickal[/autotag] continue his unbeaten run in MMA; [autotag]Mauricio Ruffy[/autotag] follow up on an impressive UFC debut; and much more. We discuss and highlight some of the other key results outside the UFC 309 main event.
  • Netflix debuted its first live sports event with a boxing match between popular influencer [autotag]Jake Paul[/autotag] and 58-year-old former champion [autotag]Mike Tyson[/autotag]. The event left plenty to discuss – some good, some bad. We react to Paul’s win over Tyson, along with Netflix’s jump into live sports.
  • To close out the show, we review some of the smaller news items outside the two big weekend events, including the booking of [autotag]Shavkat Rakmonov[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Ian Machado Garry[/autotag], which serves as the new co-main event of UFC 310; the return of [autotag]Colby Covington[/autotag], who fills in for Machado Garry to fight [autotag]Joaquim Buckley[/autotag] in the main event of UFC on ESPN 63 on Dec. 14; and the implementation of the old UFC gloves – sort of.

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Jon Jones doubles down on Alex Pereira callout, needs ‘f*ck you money’ to consider Tom Aspinall

Jon Jones wants Alex Pereira, and not Tom Aspinall, following his heavyweight title defense at Saturday’s UFC 309.

NEW YORK – The UFC is going to need a lot of convincing if they intend to put on a title unification bout between [autotag]Jon Jones[/autotag] and [autotag]Tom Aspinall[/autotag].

Jones doubled down on wanting his next fight to be against UFC light heavyweight champion [autotag]Alex Pereira [/autotag], and not interim heavyweight titleholder Aspinall following his successful return to the octagon. Jones (27-1 MMA, 21-1 UFC) defended his heavyweight crown this past Saturday by stopping Stipe Miocic (20-4 MMA, 14-4 UFC) in the main event of UFC 309 at Madison Square Garden.

Traditionally, with an interim champion in place, a title unification bout would follow and be the first order of business in the division, but Jones isn’t interested.

“I’m not really worried about the Tom fight. I’m worried about the Pereira fight,” Jones said at the UFC 309 post-fight press conference. “That’s what I want to do. I think if the UFC wants to have me back, then I think that’s the fight they’ll make. I’ve been really clear about my intentions. That’s what I want.

“I just feel like anybody would understand at this point. I’ll retire the heavyweight belt if I have to. … Tom can have the heavyweight championship. I don’t really care about it.”

Jones did offer a glimmer of hope for those wanting to see him vs. Aspinall. Although he doesn’t like the Englishman personally, and doesn’t see him fit for his legacy, Jones said he could be persuaded into it.

“I just don’t like him, and at the end of the day, if I give him the opportunity to fight me, I want to be so compensated,” Jones explained. “I want that f*ck you money. Honestly. That’s just what it is. That’s just what it is. My life is perfect without him. I don’t need him at all, and he needs me, and that’s a good place to be in a negotiation.”

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For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 309.